2000
#14,022
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,973
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Hillhouse
A locational surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,089 Americans carry the last name Hillhouse. That puts it at #15,485 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 164,076 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hillhouse surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hillhouse with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 164,076
Census rank
#15,485
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,822 bearers of the surname Hillhouse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15485th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hillhouse
The surname Hillhouse is of English origin, derived from the Old English words 'hyll' meaning hill and 'hus' meaning house. It likely originated as a topographic name, given to someone who lived in a house on a hill or near a prominent hill. The name is thought to have first appeared in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hillhouse can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1195, which mention a Walter de Hulhus. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contain references to individuals with the surname Hillhouse, such as Richard atte Hulhous in Oxfordshire.
During the medieval period, the name was often spelled in various ways, reflecting regional dialects and the inconsistent nature of written records at the time. Some of these early variations include Hulhus, Hilhous, and Hilhouse.
In the 16th century, the Hillhouse family was well-established in the county of Staffordshire, where they held estates and lands. One notable member of the family was Richard Hillhouse, a wealthy landowner born in 1532 who served as a Justice of the Peace.
In the 17th century, the Hillhouse name appeared in several historical records, including the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1662, which listed households in various counties across England. A John Hillhouse was recorded as a landowner in Cheshire during this time.
The 18th century saw the rise of several prominent individuals with the Hillhouse surname. One of these was James Hillhouse (1675-1743), a successful merchant and shipowner from Bristol, England. Another was the Scottish poet and dramatist Archibald Hillhouse (1731-1797), who was born in Ayrshire.
In the 19th century, the Hillhouse family continued to spread across the United Kingdom and beyond. One notable figure was James Abraham Hillhouse (1789-1841), a British naval officer and explorer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later explored the Arctic regions.
Another significant individual was the American politician James Hillhouse (1770-1841), who served as a United States Senator from Connecticut and was a prominent member of the Federalist Party. He was also a successful businessman and landowner.
Throughout its history, the surname Hillhouse has been associated with various place names, such as Hillhouse in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, and Hillhouse Farm in Gloucestershire. These locations likely derived their names from the presence of houses or settlements situated on or near hills.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hillhouse
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hillhouse bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hillhouse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 1,620
- Two or more races3.8% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 58
- Black or African American2.9% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hillhouse
Hillhouse appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,761
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,012
+39 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 739 places
2020
#15,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,822
-190 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 724 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,022 | 1,973 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,761 | 2,012 | 0.68 | +39 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 739 places |
| 2020 | #15,485 | 1,822 | 0.61 | -190 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 724 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hillhouse surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,761 | #15,485 | -4.9% |
| Count | 2,012 | 1,822 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.68 | 0.61 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hillhouse bearers went from 2,012 to 1,822 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 724 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,761 to #15,485.
FAQ
Hillhouse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hillhouse?
Name Census estimates that about 2,089 living Americans carry the surname Hillhouse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 164,076 residents.
How common is Hillhouse?
Hillhouse ranks #15,485 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,822 people with the surname Hillhouse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,089), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hillhouse.
Has Hillhouse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hillhouse went from 2,012 recorded bearers to 1,822. That is a decrease of 190 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,761 to #15,485.
What does the Census say about the background of Hillhouse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillhouse, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hillhouse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (1,620 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hillhouse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hillhouse (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hillhouse mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hill. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hillhouse (0.61 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Hillhouse?
See how many people are called Hillhouse on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.